Negative Implications of Free Education
College tuition fee has become increasingly expensive for many students seeking a degree in any course. This is one of the reasons why most of them end up with a huge debt accrued from college fees. Think about it: what would be the implications if college education was free?
Imagine a situation where you don’t need to pay university tuition fee: where everything is government-sponsored and all you need to do is study. That sounds cool, doesn’t it? However, it is not as pleasing and exciting as you think. Someone will still have to incur the cost of providing free education.
Negative Implications of Free Education
First and foremost, what do we mean by free education? This is a situation where the government funds institutions of higher learning and students pay nothing for tuition. Quality education requires huge amounts of money invested in it, and it may be straining to financial stakeholders in the government.
Below are the shortcomings of a free higher learning education system.
a) Increased taxes
To offset the cost of funding universities, the government would have to resolve to raise taxes. Even without college-going children, you will have to input some of your hard-earned money to educate them. Increasing the tax burden may have some negative implications on the low and middle-income families that are already struggling.
This will end up hurting the economy, thus doing more bad than good. Most low and middle-income families are already struggling with the existing tax rates; an increase would see them crumble completely.
b) Quantity-based education
Due to limited finances, colleges would have to resolve to teach lots of theory and limit the practical side of learning. It would mean that students spend most of their time in class learning theoretical concepts but not getting the hands-on experience they need or career development. This limits the quality of education.
Higher education is becoming less and less important for the employer. While studying in college, students need to devote time to self-development. It is recommended to use research papers writing services for coursework help. Read reviews on PapersBattle concerning such companies. This will help you choose the right service to hire for your paper and save you time.
c) Poor financial skills
In college, scholars get to learn a lot about saving and financial management. Since most students rely on student loans, they have to mince their money for survival. It is one benefit among many of going to the university. You learn financial independence and management. Every year, you have to properly manage your finances.
Now, what happens if money is not a problem anymore and college learning was free? You wouldn’t see the need to learn this essential skill. You won’t care much about how to organize your finances after you graduate and start earning your own money. This may cause you a lot of problems in future if you aren’t very careful about how you spend.
Necessity is the other of inventions, so without the necessity, you will not invent personal financial discipline.
d) Value of college education will reduce
Since everyone will have access to government-sponsored education, the value of a college degree will drastically reduce. This would make a degree look more like a high school certificate since the vast majority of people will have them. What will be outstanding about that?
e) Closure of private institutions
Today in America, there isn’t much of a difference between a public and a private institution. This is simply because the tuition fee is almost the same rate. It gives both sectors a fair chance of attracting scholars.
However, if college were for free, it would mean that most people will find it favorable to join public institutions. This would lead to private institutions losing students every year and eventually closing down. Very many people would choose to pay for something they can access for free. This would have a negative impact on the economy.
Conclusion
In as much as the notion of free education is attractive, it may bring adverse impacts both on the economy and quality of learning in schools. This is a debate that needs to be taken to a new level where policies have to be made to ensure the cost of learning goes lower to a manageable rate. Making it absolutely free, on the other hand, is not the way to go.
